Dungeon & Commander

Dungeon & Commander – 15

Thwack.

Kim Joon’s outstretched fist landed in Choi Moo-hyun’s abdomen.

“Ugh, still hurts. But I really want to know. Can’t you just tell me if you won?”

“I lost.”

“No way,” Choi Moo-hyun’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Yeom Sang-taek and Yoo Min-jung entered together. Kim Joon glanced at them, but Yeom Sang-taek quickly averted his gaze and headed to the locker room.

Noticing the bandage on Yeom Sang-taek’s forehead, Choi Moo-hyun tilted his head in confusion.

‘Who on earth did this?’

Yoo Min-jung stopped in front of Kim Joon.

“What happened to your head?”

“I ran into a utility pole while running.”

“……”

Yoo Min-jung sighed.

====

***

====

“Did you two fight?” Go Chul-min asked.

“No.”

“Not at all.”

Kim Joon and Yeom Sang-taek answered simultaneously.

Yoo Min-jung looked curious, wondering what was going on, but Choi Moo-hyun just smiled.

Training began.

Today’s terrain was an overgrown field, and the expected monsters were Viresisauruses and Silversauruses. The goal was to maintain precise formation in the tall grass that obscured vision and to hunt the charging monsters effectively.

“Diamond formation,” Yoo Min-jung commanded.

The team entered the tall grass. The wind rustled the weeds, creating a rustling sound all around. Beyond the range of the light orb Yeom Sang-taek had cast, it was pitch dark.

“Buffer, cast Strong on the tanker,” Yoo Min-jung instructed.

Yeom Sang-taek didn’t respond.

“Buffer!”

“…What did you say?”

“Strong, on the tanker.”

“Got it.”

Yeom Sang-taek immediately attempted the buff, but it failed. Choi Moo-hyun’s body trembled slightly from the shock.

“Focus.”

“…Okay.”

He tried casting Strong again, but it failed once more. The third attempt also didn’t work. Panicking, Yeom Sang-taek kept trying to cast the Strong buff, but it wouldn’t succeed.

After five failed attempts, the exhausted Choi Moo-hyun fell to his knees.

At that moment, a Silversaurus attacked the tanker. The buffer had missed the stealthy approach of the monster. The Silversaurus bit down on Choi Moo-hyun’s shoulder and shook him violently.

Another Silversaurus appeared from the rear. Kim Joon barely dodged it, and the monster grabbed the bewildered buffer, dragging him into the darkness beyond the tall grass.

Yoo Min-jung fired her fire arrows, but with the tanker and buffer down, there wasn’t much a lone dealer could do.

Yoo Min-jung called up the simulator menu and pressed the ‘End Training’ button. The windy grassland vanished, and the darkness receded. The team members who had died were revived.

Yoo Min-jung stood in front of Yeom Sang-taek, who couldn’t lift his head.

“Cast a Strong buff on me,” she ordered.

“…Now?”

“Yes, now!”

“Got it.”

Yeom Sang-taek tried ten times in a row and failed each time. It wasn’t until the fourteenth attempt that he finally succeeded in casting Strong once.

“Keep going,” Yoo Min-jung insisted.

Yeom Sang-taek, now on the verge of tears, continued to cast Strong, sweating profusely. Despite his efforts, failures far outnumbered successes. Out of thirty attempts, only two were successful.

The success rate was less than 10%.

“Sigh,” Yoo Min-jung disconnected from the simulation.

Yeom Sang-taek trembled all over.

Choi Moo-hyun and Kim Joon remained silent. They knew that no words could offer comfort.

Yeom Sang-taek also ended his simulation.

Kim Joon, who emerged from the simulator next, saw Yeom Sang-taek leave the guild house without even showering, having only changed his clothes in the locker room. Kim Joon followed him out, but Go Chul-min blocked his path.

“Come with me,” Go Chul-min said.

“…What?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Come with me.”

“What about Sang-taek?”

“That’s what I want to talk about. Now, follow me without any more questions.”

Kim Joon followed Go Chul-min to the parking lot.

Go Chul-min got into the driver’s seat and opened the passenger door.

Kim Joon sat in the passenger seat.

“Seatbelt,” Go Chul-min instructed.

“…Okay.”

Kim Joon fastened his seatbelt, unsure where they were headed. The master had never taken him out in the car before.

The car left the guild house and sped down the road.

“Why do you think he bullies you?” Go Chul-min asked.

“I don’t know. There must be a reason. Did you know about it?”

“I’m the master. Of course, I know. Now, answer me. Why does Sang-taek bully you?”

“I don’t know. Because I’m a carrier? Because I look weak?”

“Is that so?”

Silence filled the car again.

“Is there another reason?” Kim Joon asked.

“Think about it carefully. And help him.”

“…Help who?”

“Yeom Sang-taek.”

“Me?”

“Normally, it’s the team leader’s role, but Yoo Min-jung is still too sharp and proud for that.”

“Would Sang-taek even want my help?”

“He doesn’t even know what he wants right now. He doesn’t realize what kind of talent he has. Anyway, I’m counting on you. If Sang-taek runs off like this, I might drown my sorrows in alcohol again, and that would break my heart.”

“……”

Kim Joon was taken aback. To think he was being threatened like this.

The hour-long drive finally came to an end.

====

***

====

“Your forehead, it doesn’t hurt, does it?” Choi Moo-hyun asked.

“Not at all.”

“How about some kimbap and tteokbokki? My treat.”

“Maybe next time.”

“What’s with you? You’ve been turning me down a lot lately.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

As Choi Moo-hyun left the guild house, Kim Joon felt someone’s gaze on him.

Turning his head, he saw Yoo Min-jung approaching. Her pretty yet authoritative face was coming closer.

“You brought this on yourself,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Yeom Sang-taek is bothered by your behavior, which isn’t typical of a carrier. That’s why he bullies you. He lost his pace because of it, and that’s why things turned out the way they did today.”

Yoo Min-jung concluded decisively, like a true team leader.

“What behavior isn’t typical of a carrier?”

Kim Joon realized that Yoo Min-jung, like the master, knew the truth all along. She had known but did nothing to protect him as a team leader should.

“You’re overly confident. Even now, you’re looking me straight in the eyes, as if we’re equals.”

“We’re not equals?”

“You’re a carrier. I’m a raider.”

“So?”

“So? You need to act more like a carrier. Right now, it’s Yeom Sang-taek bullying you, but next time, it could be another raider if you don’t change your attitude.”

“Are you saying I should be servile?”

“…Not exactly.”

Yoo Min-jung struggled to find a better word than ‘servile.’

“So that’s what you think,” Kim Joon said, nodding slowly.

“Every raider thinks that way.”

“Okay, for now.”

“……”

There it was again, ‘okay’ and ‘for now.’ No ordinary carrier would speak to a raider like that.

Yoo Min-jung turned and walked away.

Once she left, the guild house fell silent.

Alone, Kim Joon mulled over Yoo Min-jung’s words.

“Not acting like a carrier, huh…”

He felt drained.

He had come this far aiming to be the best carrier.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t choose this path to please anyone.’

Resolving himself, Kim Joon focused on his tasks.

Lower body strength was crucial not just for buffers but also for dealers. A stable lower body improved the success rate and potency of magic.

As Kim Joon observed the movements of hundreds of buffers casting buff spells, he was quite surprised.

“What?

It was surprising.

Yeom Sang-taek’s lower body was solid, ranking among the best buffers Kim Joon had seen in raid videos. Even while casting buff magic, his stance remained unwavering.

Kim Joon knew little about the execution process of buff magic. He could only observe the external posture and movements.

‘Yeom Sang-taek’s posture when casting buffs is excellent. It’s very similar to the top buffers I’ve seen in raid videos. So why is his success rate so low?’

As he pondered the anomaly, a scene from a raid video led by Cheonhondan came to mind.

“Ah, that’s it!”

Kim Joon finally found the answer. He figured out how to help Yeom Sang-taek.

Just then, someone entered through the main door.

It was Yeom Sang-taek.

Seeing Kim Joon, Yeom Sang-taek hesitated and quickly headed to the locker room. Kim Joon waited for him at the guild house entrance.

“I forgot my wallet…” Yeom Sang-taek awkwardly showed his wallet and left the guild house without giving Kim Joon a chance to speak.

As he walked towards the taxi stand, he sensed something approaching quickly from behind.

Though not as sharp as in a dungeon, his detection ability still worked in reality.

He dodged immediately, but a wooden club struck his shoulder.

Falling forward, Yeom Sang-taek instinctively cast a healing spell. The earlier the healing magic is used, the more effective it is.

“Wow, this guy’s hand just lit up.”

“He’s definitely a raider.”

“I told you, he was freakishly fast. He must be a raider.”

The thugs exchanged words while continuing to beat Yeom Sang-taek with clubs and metal pipes.

Screams erupted.

One man crouched in front of Yeom Sang-taek.

“A raider who doesn’t know fear. How dare you mess with our boys? You shouldn’t use the power you got by luck like that. Well, you won’t be able to use it anymore.”

As the man nodded, one of his subordinates pulled out a knife. The knife-wielder approached Yeom Sang-taek’s leg.

Stabbing in several places to sever and cut important muscles would make complete recovery impossible.

He would be limping for the rest of his life.

“…No!”

Yeom Sang-taek shouted.

At that moment, Kim Joon jumped into the fray, kicking the knife-wielder’s hand.

The knife flew onto the road.

Before the thugs could react, Kim Joon threw punches.

Thwack, thwack.

Two thugs hit the ground.

A wooden club swung towards him.

Kim Joon rolled on the ground to avoid it. He grabbed a boot aimed at his face, lifted it, and pushed forward.

Another thug fell to a side punch.

“Hey! That guy’s running away!”

The thugs shouted.

Yeom Sang-taek was fleeing.

The thugs quickly decided to vent their frustration on Kim Joon instead, as catching Yeom Sang-taek seemed impossible.

Kim Joon clenched his fists tightly.

====

***

====

“You’re late today?” Go Chul-min asked as he saw Kim Joon approaching, sipping on a cola in the parking lot.

“I took the subway,” Kim Joon replied.

It had been a while since he skipped his morning jog.

“What’s with your face?”

“I fell.”

His face was bruised purple, and his swollen lips made it difficult to speak.

“Again? Tsk tsk, looks like you had quite a fight.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Try to avoid it if you can. Your body is your asset.”

“Yes.”

Entering the guild house, Kim Joon saw Yeom Sang-taek preparing for training. Yeom Sang-taek noticed his gaze but deliberately turned his head to avoid it.

Choi Moo-hyun approached, making a fuss.

The day began.

====

***

====

It was a tough day.

Things were more chaotic than usual.

Yeom Sang-taek’s buff success rate was below 10%.

With the only buffer failing to cast spells consistently, the team couldn’t succeed in their missions.

Yoo Min-jung was seething with anger.

Yeom Sang-taek silently endured her harsh words.

Training ended.

“Quitting would be the best way to help us,” Yoo Min-jung said as she exited the simulator.

Yeom Sang-taek fled to the shower room. He turned on the water and cried silently. Though the tears washed away with the water, his heart continued to weep.

Why did he run away?

He was scared.

But he shouldn’t have run.

After his skin wrinkled from the water, he finally stepped out of the shower. The guild house was quiet.

He didn’t want to go home.

Changing back into his simulator suit, he went to Simulator 3.

Once the flash of light disappeared, Yeom Sang-taek used a light spell to push back the darkness.

He checked the menu. After some hesitation, he deactivated the monster option. No monsters would approach now.

He gently warmed up his body and then cast the buffs he knew one by one: Strong, Speed Up, Healing, Anti-Fire, Anti-Ice, Cure, Cure Poison. He excluded Help since it required a tanker.

Out of five attempts, he rarely succeeded even once.

“Why can’t I do it?” Yeom Sang-taek muttered, sinking to the ground.

Should he go back to magic school? Should he swallow his pride and learn magic alongside newly enrolled novices?

If that process could raise his success rate to 90%, or even 80%, or 70%, he would run there immediately.

The problem was that magic skills didn’t necessarily improve with prolonged training.

Among the awakened, geniuses like Lee Hwan easily broke through barriers and rose higher. They were objects of admiration for ordinary people, but relatively average awakened individuals… They struggled daily, envying the achievements of geniuses, but most only realized their own limitations.

He had read dozens of books written by so-called successful awakened individuals, hoping to find a clue.

The moment of insight or enlightenment comes without warning.

It was a common theme that no one could predict when they would break through their current level and rise higher.

“Someday, I’ll get there,” Yeom Sang-taek whispered to himself.